Now they’ve turned their attention to the nation’s official national anthem – in order to make the most coveted of symbols more representative of the population.

"I want to pay tribute to all the women who have worked and fought to build and shape the Canada that we know today."

Mauril Bélanger MP

On Wednesday, Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger introduced a bill which would change one of the lines in the “ O Canada” anthem from “True patriot love in all thy sons command” — to “all of us command”.

“With my bill, I want to pay tribute to all the women who have worked and fought to build and shape the Canada that we know today,” Bélanger said in a statement. “I want to at long last honor their sacrifices and contribution.”

There have been 10 previous attempts to change the national anthem since it replaced God Save the Queen in 1980, but these were all thwarted by Conservatives who deemed it “grammatically unnecessary”, arguing that the majority of Canadian soldiers were male.

David Kendall, a Canadian anthem expert who runs a website called nationalanthems.info, expect the bill to pass thanks to the Liberal Party’s majority in Parliament.

"“Most people don’t mind what it says as long as they get to sing it at the hockey.”

David Kendall

He told The Guardian: “There’s a small number of people here who really want it changed and a small number who don’t,” he said. “But most don’t mind what it says as long as they get to sing it at the hockey.”

Earlier this month, Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau said he “would be strongly supportive of a recommendation from the Bank of Canada to put an iconic woman or women on the banknote.”

Currently no Canadian women are featured on the country’s polymer bank notes, although the $20 bill features an image of Queen Elizabeth II. The notes are due for re-design in 2019, creating an opportunity for a woman to be included.

Jane Austen is to feature on the new £10 note in the UK

The previous series included a $50 note with the image of Therese Casgrain, a Quebec feminist, and the Famous Five, a group of women who fought for women’s rights in Canada, but they were replaced by an image of an Arctic icebreaker.